Cord-fastener.



A. J. MACKENZIE.

CORD FASTENER.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 14. 1914.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

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. ALEXANDER J. MACKENZIE, or'nUrFAL o, NEW rank- V Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedAug. 3;, 1915.

Applicationfiled July 14, 1914,. a Serial No. 850,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER J. MAC KENZIE, a citizen of the United States, re,- siding at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State. of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cord-Fasteners, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to cord fasteners for securlng packages, and is more particularly adapted for use in the mail service for tying together letters or other mail matter.

The primary object of my invention is the production of a simple, inexpensive and convenient cord-fastening device by. means of which bundles of letters or other mail matter, or packages of any kind, can be quickly bound with cordand the cord secured in a most effectual manner, and where by the cord can be'as readily untied.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a cord fastener having means to enable it-to be suspended from a cord or wire so that a large number of fasteners may at all times be retained inconvenient position side by sideon the cord and conveniently detached therefrom, either singly or in quantities as needed.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a cord fastener which can be as readily used by persons who habitually use their left hand rather than their right as by those using their right hand.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the cord fastener that provision is made for readily changing the direction of the cord and retaining the latter in se-, cure connection with the fastener.

Other objects are to construct a fastener of this type of wire, the wire being bent, curved or otherwise fashioned to provide an attaching portion atone end, a supporting portion at its other end, and two directionchanging portions atthe sides for changing the direction of the cord in passing the same around a package or, bundle, and securing the cord to the fastener, said directionchanging portions'having eacha cord securing portion by means of which the free end of the cord is securely fastenedyand' to otherwise improve on cord fasteners of this type now in use.

To these ends the invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the'arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out I i in the subjo-ined claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 isa perspective view of a package of letters fastened to-' gether by. means of a cord and my improved cord fastener. Figs. 2 and 3 are plan views of the package showing different steps in the act ofconnecting the cord to the fastener. Fig. i is a perspective view showing the manner in which cord fasteners are suspended from a wire to permit of conveniently detaching them as needed.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The reference numeral 5 designates a packageof envelops or letters adapted to be tiedtogether by means of a cord 6 and my improved cord fastener 7.

The cord fastener is constructed of wire bent, curved, twisted or otherwise fashioned to provide at one end an attaching portion 8 to which one end of the. cord 6 is attached, as at 9, at its other end a supporting portion 10 by means of which the fastener. be suspended from a wire, as will be herein after more particularly set forth; and two direction-changing portions 11 at opposite sides, around which the cord is adapted to be wound for changing the direction of the same,each direction-changing portion having a securing portion 12 in which the end of the cord is adapted to be secured.

Thewire from which the fastener is constructedis bent at a point between its ends, in substantially heart-shape, as at 18, with an inwardly projecting U-shapedportion is slightly restricted inwidth at its outer end,

, as at 15. At the point or apex of the heart meet each other, as at 25, and are thence twisted upon themselves, as at 26; the ends of the wire being fashioned to provide an attaching eye 27. The heart-shaped por tion 23 serves as the supporting portionof the fastenerby means of which it may be suspended from a wire 28, as shown in Fig. 4, and by thus supporting the fasteners side .by side they may be conveniently removed in the quantities needed by simply pulling upon the cord hanging therefrom.- The restricted portion of the. U-shaped part ll of theheart portion serves to retain the fastener on thewire 28 and grip the wire sufiiciently to necessitate a slight pull upon the cord 6, to remove the fastener from the sup- I porting wire 28.

. The eye 27 and the twisted portion 26 of the wire adjacent to said eye constitute the passing the end portion of the cord into either of said spaces,'said cord will be wedged and retained and may be readily detached by grasping the end of the cord and pulling outwardly thereon toward the enlarged portion on said space.

Each of the two lateral wings may be said to comprise two U-shaped parts arranged in juxtaposition with a slight outwardly fiaring space between said parts. These lateral wings are exact counterparts sothat theymay be used interchangeably -to enable a person habitually using the left hand to tie a package or bundle as readily as one using the right hand.

\Vhen fastening a number of articlestogether or when tying a bundle, the cord fastener is placed on the bundle and held in position with the thumb of one, hand, the

thumb being referably placed against the central portion of'the fastener so as to bear against both"lateral' wings thereof. The cord is then passed around the package or bundle in one direction and 'plac'ed beneath one of thelateral wings of the fastener, and for convenience in placing the cord'under either of said lateralwings these wings are given a slight upward curve at their outer ends. After thecord is placed underneath Copies of this patent maybe obtained for one of the wings it is passed over the twisted portion 26 of the fastener and continued around the package or bundle'at right angles tothe portion previously passed around the same. The end portionofthe is then brought to a point inline with the opposite wing of the fastener and passed underneath the same, thence over the twisted portion 16 and underneath a portion of the firstinentioned wing, the end of the cord being thrust into the clamping spaceprovided in or fashioned to provide a clamping portion at one end adapted to engage a cord or wire for suspending the fastener,a twisted portion at the inner'end of said clamping portion, two laterally-disposed wingsforrned by bending the wire outwardly in opposite directions from said twisted portion and recurving the same, thence doubling the wire upon itself at opposite sides and recurving the same to meet ata common point, the wire-where doubled upon itself being separated by slight spaces, said wire being twisted together at said common point and at the outer end of said twisted portion beingformed into an attaching eye.

2. A cord fastener formed of wire bentbetween its ends to provide a heart-shaped portion having a U-shaped part'extending inwardly from its large end, the wire being twisted together at the point or apex of the heart-shaped portion and directed laterally and at opposite sides and fashioned at each side into two U shaped parts constituting opposite wings, said U-shaped parts being separated by slight spaces, the wire at the opposite ends of said wings being twisted upon itself and finally shaped into the form of an eye.

3. A cord fastener formed of a single piece of wire bent to provide an attaching portion at oneend, and opposite laterally extending portions provided with cord receiving spaces, said laterally extending portions being adapted to have a cord passed around the same to change the direction of the cord and either of said cord receiving spaces being adapted to receive the end portion of the cord, as and for the purpose set forth.

g In testimony whe'reofI aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER J. MACKENZIE. V

' 'Witnesses; I

EMIL NEUHART, EDA M. SGHWEIGER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washingt0'n,1) .G. 1 

